DAY 9 - SANT'AGATA FELTRIA to BALZE - 29 April 2026

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To avoid some nasty farm dogs, we rejoined the Cammino di San Francesco after making a minor detour. There was a lot of uphill today,  resulting in more wonderful views over the surrounding countryside.  We were on tracks and minor roads and hardly saw anyone.  The one cyclist stopped for a chat, even though he was going downhill, and asked if we were following a particular trail -  the Cammino di San Francesco of course!

We had our healthy fruit after about 10 km, sitting down in a drain in the absence of a picnic table - we found that after another few kilometres! Lunch was bread and ham in the alcove of a little church. We saw signs for mushroom harvesting and wondered about the absence of cows,  even though we saw signage for them.  We had a mandarin break just before our last climb of the day, past the Hermitage of San Alberico.

This was a steady climb then slow descent through shady forests.  Part of the way was beside a small stream, and both uphill and downhill had stations of the cross. We enjoyed this peaceful section very much.

We eventually made it to Balze, our stop for the night.  After checking in, we bought supplies at the small grocery then dinner at the local bar/restaurant - great to be in a non touristy village,  in the same bar as the locals!
A scenic path out from Sant'Agata Feltria this morning 
Hitting our stride on a welcome downhill section
Wonderful expansive vistas as we climbed into the Apennines 
A lovely walk surrounded by green mountains and valleys
Morning tea stop at a scenic drain to eat our girelle
A typical picture from today's walk
A feature of the landscape in this part of the country
This would have been a better morning tea stop than that drain
A promising little chapel
Lunch stop at a little chapel on the way
More wonderful views
There was a lot of climbing today
Australian long-distance walker in action
Still going up
A shady forest
Afternoon tea stop in a shady forest
More steep uphill
Up to one of the stations of the cross near the Hermitage of San Alberico 
There was a step descent through an atmospheric forest
The Cammino di San Francesco was well signposted all the way
The road surface for the descent was pretty, but also pretty rough
The path followed this stream for a while
This tree looked like it had a story to tell
Walking beside the stream
The final descent into Balze 
 
Balze (altitude 1068m)
Dinner in Balze 
Flowers 
Bird. Probably common. 
Day 9 - Map
Day:                                 9
Distance:                        22.11 km
Walking time:                5 hrs 04 mins
Elevation gain:              952 metres
Cumulative distance:  160.88 km

Comments

  1. Anonymous30 April 2026 at 01:54

    Northern Wheatear

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barkers1 May 2026 at 06:28

      Hard to spot but he obligingly held still on the post for us!

      Delete
  2. Butlers30 April 2026 at 11:59

    Loved the forest walk...absolutely beautiful. And the little chapel...I could have stayed there all day and read a book!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Barkers1 May 2026 at 06:30

    It was beautiful and the chapel was well placed for us. We had white backs and backpacks when we got up, from leaning against the walls!

    ReplyDelete

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